Fall For You
by FranklyMyDear89
Summary: Music and silence don't exactly mesh, and neither are Heero and Duo. When their relationship disintegrates, will Heero finally bridge the gap, or will Duo refuse to break his fall? Drabbles/Songfic, more than a little bit of angst. 1x2, obviously.
1. Traffic

7:03 am, Monday morning.

The sun had barely broken through the haze of smog that lingered above the already bustling city.

Traffic on the Four-Oh-Five was in full swing,

Creeping towards the high-rises that everyone and their brother were trying to get to,

Although if it didn't start moving soon,

Everyone's brother was sure to be fired for being late.

Duo hoped it wouldn't be Heero or himself,

And turned up the radio to drown out his frustration and all the honking.

Heero attempted to refrain from grinding his teeth;

Blaring rock was hardly the preferable option at this hour.


	2. Overtime

4:59 pm, Monday evening.

Soft,

Swift footsteps marred the silence accompanying the rapid clicking of Heero's keyboard.

The footsteps stopped,

Replaced by knuckles rapping on the doorframe behind him.

He paused,

Double-checking the screen,

Then waved a dismissing hand and returned to his typing.

He wouldn't be finished for some time yet,

So if his partner was ready to go home,

There was no need for him to wait.

He'd catch a cab home,

Like he often did when his reports required overtime.

Duo sighed,

The only quasi-verbal part of the conversation so far.

He turned,

Walking out alone again.


	3. Pancakes

7:36 pm, Monday night.

Duo's key slid past the tumblers and rotated the lock of the apartment's front door.

No lights were needed for his fingers to find the security pad that would disengage the silent alarm system,

But they were helpful when locating the kitchen.

He hated the quiet emptiness that greeted him when Heero stayed late at the office;

Pancakes and KROQ would have to keep his demons at bay with the lack of actual company.

A lazy grin graced his lips as Nicole announced a reggae marathon.

He reached for the eggs,

Mouthing the words he knew.


	4. Advertisement

10:48 pm, Monday night.

Heero nearly drew his gun as he registered an unfamiliar voice on the other side of the door.

As his hand flicked open the holster,

Though,

He realized that it was an advertisement for some sort of concert.

Snapping the holster closed again,

He entered the apartment,

Not surprised when the music started up again,

Nor that Duo was jumping around to the beat in the kitchen.

How the man could think over the noise was beyond Heero.

The smell of food beckoned him closer,

Cold pancakes a good compromise for his ability to hear properly.


	5. Hurts

10:52 pm, Monday night.

He knew Heero didn't get it.

It didn't matter that he'd explained how music had the ability to express things in a person they didn't know they had,

To heal hurts in places they never knew existed.

It didn't matter if he played it loud or barely audible,

Heero wouldn't let it in.

Even now,

With Marley himself telling him that every little thing was gonna be alright,

His partner was shutting himself away,

As though he was anywhere other than in the kitchen eating leftover pancakes.

Did he know he was shutting Duo out too?


	6. Wish

11:11 pm, Monday night.

_Make a wish_.

Duo tried not to think,

Let alone check the time.

Those weren't things you were supposed to do when in your lover's arms.

He looked up into Heero's eyes,

Only to find distracted ones matching his own.

Had it always been like this?

He could see it,

The checklist that Heero was running down.

He'd made note of things Duo'd said he liked,

And always made sure to do them.

As if it would excuse his distance.

Duo closed his eyes.

He didn't want to see that checklist staring blankly back at him.


	7. Radio

2:09 am, Tuesday morning.

It was stubbornness that kept Heero from opening his eyes while he listened to Duo quietly packing a bag.

If he wanted to leave in the middle of the night without a word,

Then it was his right.

Heero's comprehension of the act was unnecessary.

It took him twenty-two minutes after the door clicked shut to notice the wetness on his face and the ache in his chest.

The silence was judgmental,

The coldness mocking in the wake of Duo's absence.

Holding his breath,

He rose from the bed long enough to switch on the radio.


	8. Memories

9:03 am, Tuesday morning.

Duo berated himself for worrying.

It was no longer his problem when Heero chose to come to work.

In fact,

It would make life easier if he didn't show at all.

The memories of their time together were easier to weather without Heero's obtrusive presence in the office.

Duo considered moving far enough away that he wouldn't have to deal with the memories at all,

But dismissed it almost immediately.

That was giving Heero entirely too much control over his life.

He hummed under his breath,

Ignoring Heero completely when he rushed past twenty minutes later.


	9. Heart

2:06 am, Saturday morning.

Heero shut his laptop and figured he should at least attempt to sleep.

Not that it would come willingly;

It was always difficult now that his bed was half empty.

Hauling himself off the couch,

He made his way down the hall and into his bedroom.

It was a nearly unconscious action,

Turning on the radio and then turning off the light.

He lay in bed,

Staring at the ceiling,

But really seeing Duo.

Duo knew this song.

Knew all the words by heart.

The pain in his chest flared,

But the words finally made sense.


	10. Mourning

12:07 am, Saturday morning.

Duo bit back the emotion swelling in his chest and smacked the radio off.

It was still torture hearing that song,

Even if it seemed both forever and yesterday that he'd been belting it out next to Heero,

Hoping that if he was the one singing it,

The words might sink in that he cared for the man.

But Heero didn't get it.

He just grimaced and turned the music down without a word.

Duo did his best to shake the memory from his head.

It wouldn't do him any good now,

Mourning over the past.


	11. Laugh

9:05 pm, Saturday evening.

It had taken them nearly three weeks after Duo'd left him for everyone to start hanging out as a group again.

Heero did his best to feign indifference,

But their outings together meant being able to see Duo laugh with their friends,

And that was the best medication he'd discovered since his new-found obsession with the radio.

Sure,

He wasn't the one to put that smile there anymore,

And there was still a tightness in Duo's eyes that he'd never noticed before,

But it was better than sitting at home and perfecting the art of wallowing.


	12. Fair

9:06 pm, Saturday evening.

It wasn't fair.

They were supposed to be out having fun,

But all Duo could think about were the eyes plastered to him.

Heero's eyes.

No matter where he went,

Heero's eyes stayed with him.

Was he even blinking?

Duo's stomach flipped as he realized he didn't want those eyes to leave him.

That he had never wanted them to leave him.

It was like all the distance was instantly gone between them.

Heero was _there_.

So he kept them,

Even if it would hurt them both,

And he knew it really wasn't fair of him.


	13. Flinch

9:37 pm, Saturday evening.

Heero knew he was dense.

He'd been told it a million times.

There were plenty of things he would never understand.

But the tangible pull that seemed to be emanating from his ex-lover as they stood near each other was unmistakable.

He couldn't deny it,

Even if Duo seemed bent on doing just that.

Heero imagined having the courage to just take his hand,

Take that leap…

But to feel Duo flinch from his touch,

Or pull away in disgust…

That would kill him.

The Perfect Soldier sighed and cowardly buried his hands in his pockets.


	14. Door

10:58 pm, Saturday evening.

Heero leaned heavily against the inside of his front door, watching his empty apartment glare back at him.

The night had felt so…

Normal.

Being with everyone –

With him –

It had been easy to forget that Duo wouldn't be standing next to him as he closed the door and turned in.

Heero closed his eyes against the vacant room,

Against the void he felt growing within.

There would be no filling it,

Not without that man by his side.

And if he could venture a guess,

Duo's forced smile that night meant he knew it too.


	15. Fool

11:04 pm, Saturday evening.

The door was hardly closed before Duo was on the ground,

Hugging his knees to his chest.

The tension between him and Heero that night was more than he could bear.

It would only be a matter of time before looking wouldn't be enough for Heero.

Hell,

It was barely enough for him.

Duo thanked the gods Heero was a stronger person than he was.

He was such a fool.

Hindsight had a funny way of bringing that home.

But they couldn't go back.

Even awkward attention was preferable to the cold indifference they shared before.


	16. Desperation

A/N: Thank you all for reading, and especially thanks to those of you who have reviewed. Lately y'all have been asking for longer chapters, and I'd love to oblige, but the whole point of this (which was clearly stated in the summary) was to make it a series of drabbles, so I won't be deviating. But don't fret too much; we're finally coming to the songfic part next chapter.

That said, welcome once again to the dark recesses of my twisted imagination. Enjoy your stay.

7:54 pm, Friday evening.

Two months had passed.

Difficult to accept,

But believable.

Heero watched as his friends and ex-lover ran up to the stage.

It was uncharacteristic for Heero to join them for karaoke,

But he would take any excuse to be close to the man,

Even if the awkwardness was still palpable.

It wasn't until Duo raised the mike and tipped his head back that he admitted he wanted to know what went wrong.

What change needed to occur to fix it.

If he was worth giving a second chance.

Impulse and desperation brought him to his feet.


	17. Scary

7:57 pm, Friday evening.

Duo had about two seconds to be confused at Heero's empty seat before an all-too-familiar voice was projected from the overhead speakers.

_The best thing 'bout tonight's that we're not fighting_

Whirling around,

He felt his mind reeling.

The image of Heero singing in public,

Even knowing a specific song,

Was so incongruous with his memory of the man,

His brain instantly rejected it.

_Could it be that we have been this way before?_

Duo sank into his chair,

Swallowing hard,

Heart racing without his permission.

He'd always thought change was good,

But this was scary.


	18. Outlet

7:57 Friday evening.

Heero saw the look of panic in Duo's eyes the moment he turned around,

And did his best to quell his own.

Singing was not his strong suit,

And it took most of his concentration to stay on key,

Regardless of the fact that he'd committed the song to memory a month ago.

_I know you don't think that I am trying _

_I know you're wearing thin down to the core_

Duo had been right.

Music was an outlet of expression he'd known nothing about.

But he understood it now.

He only hoped it wasn't too late.


	19. Metaphors

7:57 pm, Friday evening.

Duo ignored his heated face and bravely held Heero's gaze.

This was a dream.

There was no way that Heero was using music to express himself.

That simply wasn't possible.

_But hold your breath _

Heero couldn't mean the words that were slicing their way into Duo's heart.

Metaphors were beyond the man.

_Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you_

_Over again, don't make me change my mind_

And why would his absence be the thing to make him understand what Duo'd been explaining for months?

For years even?

It just couldn't.


	20. Need

7:57 pm, Friday evening.

The panic had subsided into pain and denial,

Making Heero confused.

_I won't live to see another day, _

_I swear it's true _

This was supposed to help.

Did Duo not believe him?

What else could he possibly say that he wasn't already saying?

_Because a girl like you is impossible to find_

Heero didn't like the fact,

But if this feeling of need hadn't dissipated after two months,

It wasn't going to.

It was Duo or no one at all.

_You're impossible to find_

And no one at all was just too painful to live with.


	21. Discussion

Duo glanced around quickly,

Looking for an exit.

This was not the place he wanted to have this discussion.

_This is not what I intended_

Okay,

So he admitted that 99.9% of him wanted to have this discussion,

But in public?

With their friends sitting right there?

They were already giving him concerned looks,

Some close to downright pity for him.

_I always swore to you I'd never fall apart_

He got to his feet,

Trying in vain to block out the words being sung to him.

He just had to make it out the door before his resolve broke.


End file.
